Birmingham Airport

About Birmingham Airport

Birmingham Airport (IATA: BHX, ICAO: EGBB) is the main airport for Birmingham and the West Midlands. It lies in the borough of Solihull, about 6 miles (10 km) east-south-east of Birmingham city centre, beside Birmingham International railway station and the NEC. The short Air-Rail Link connects the terminal with the station, giving direct rail access from across the country.

The airport handled 13,660,382 terminal passengers in 2025, around 13.7 million, according to UK Civil Aviation Authority data. Its route network combines short-haul flights across Europe with long-haul and hub services to the Middle East and Asia. All flights use a single terminal building.

Birmingham Airport Limited operates the airport. The seven West Midlands district councils have been shareholders since the airport company was formed, and in November 2025 Macquarie Asset Management completed the purchase of a 26.5% stake from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The single runway, 15/33, is 3,052 metres long following a 400-metre extension brought into use in 2014, which was designed to allow non-stop long-haul flights to more distant markets.

How to get to Birmingham Airport

By train

Birmingham International station is on the West Coast Main Line and has direct trains to more than 100 towns and cities. The free Air-Rail Link runs daily between 03:30 and 00:30, carrying passengers from the first floor of the station to the first floor of the terminal. Services from the station include:

• Avanti West Coast to London Euston (about 70 minutes), Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton
• West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway to Birmingham New Street, Rugby, Northampton, Milton Keynes and London Euston
• CrossCountry to Manchester Piccadilly, Bournemouth, Coventry and Birmingham New Street
• Transport for Wales to Shrewsbury, with some trains continuing to Aberystwyth, Pwllheli or Holyhead

Birmingham New Street is about 10 minutes away by direct train.

By bus and coach

National Express West Midlands and National Express Coventry run the local buses. Routes include:

• X1 between Birmingham city centre and Coventry, stopping on site at bus stop K
• X12 between Birmingham city centre and Solihull, from bus stop L
• 96 between Kingstanding and Chelmsley Wood, from bus stop L
• 17A and 97A between Birmingham city centre and Birmingham International station and the NEC, reached from the terminal by the Air-Rail Link

Long-distance coaches run by National Express and FlixBus stop directly outside the terminal, with daily services to cities including Oxford, Luton, Milton Keynes, Manchester and London.

By road

Leave the M42 at junction 6, join the A45 and follow the signs to the airport. The postcode for sat nav and journey planners is B26 3QJ. Parking is available on site in a range of short and long stay car parks, along with valet parking, a dedicated drop-off car park and blue badge options.

Terminal and facilities

Birmingham has one terminal with shops, restaurants and several lounges. Facilities include:

• Lounges: Luxe by Aspire, Suite by Aspire, Aspire Lounge, Clubrooms and No1 Lounge, all bookable by passengers flying with any airline, plus an Emirates Lounge for Emirates and Qantas customers
• Express Lane security, which can be pre-booked online
• Premium Arrivals Fast Track through passport control
• Assisted Travel, including a Changing Places toilet with a hoist, available on request at the Assisted Travel desk
• Two multi-faith prayer rooms, one before and one after security
• Meeting rooms and business facilities run by Regus Express
• An aircraft viewing area in Car Park 5

General enquiries go through the Babs chatbot or the online form on the contact page. Missing or delayed baggage on arrival is handled by Swissport for most airlines, while Jet2.com and TUI have their own arrangements.

Airlines and destinations

The airport's airline directory lists 25 carriers. Low-cost and leisure airlines, including easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI and Wizz Air, provide flights to city and holiday destinations across Europe, with Corendon Airlines, Pegasus Airlines and SunExpress also operating. Aer Lingus, Emerald Airlines, Aurigny and Loganair are among the smaller carriers at the airport.

Network airlines connect Birmingham with major hubs. They include KLM to Amsterdam, Air France to Paris, Lufthansa, SWISS, SAS, Eurowings and Vueling in Europe, Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, Emirates to Dubai, Qatar Airways to Doha, and Air India, EgyptAir and Saudia on routes to India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

History

Birmingham City Council decided in 1928 that the city needed a municipal airport, and Elmdon was chosen as the site in 1933. Scheduled services began in May 1939, and Elmdon Airport was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent on 8 July 1939. During the Second World War it was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for flying training, and hard runways replaced the original grass strip. Civil flying resumed on 8 July 1946.

A new terminal on the opposite side of the runway was opened by the Queen in 1984. It was followed in July 1991 by the Eurohub, which the airport describes as the first terminal in the world to handle domestic and international passengers together. The Air-Rail Link and a public transport interchange opened in March 2003. Private investors first took a minority stake in 1997, and ownership has since passed through several investors, most recently Macquarie in 2025. Work on the 400-metre runway extension started in July 2012 and it came into use in May 2014.